Chromed Out Lore for Dummies

// This article is currently a WIP, please excuse any mid-sentence stops or typos

Preview of Modern Earth

Total population of Earth is approximately 11,000,000,000, the sea level has risen by 20 meters, engulfing most low-lying coastal areas beneath the waves. The Kingdom of Britannia, backed by the mighty British Empire, is a horrifying instrument of global catastrophe.

America is in tatters, the United States collapsed in 2058, and New England is ruled by the British, the impoverished East Coast serves as the primary battleground for the British war for resources and revenge against North America.

Asia isn't well either. The Republic of China rules over Vietnam, and is in the process of invading Mainland Japan, and Japanese Hong Kong. Japan is wrought with instability, the democratic government of the 1960s to the 2060s has given way to a corporate republic tasked with juggling climate change, Chinese invaders, economic instability, and gang activity.

In all of this horrid violence, there only stands one ugly salvation from British invasion, climate collapse, or total governmental failure. Corporatization of state, courtesy of the Triumvirate. The Triumvirate is the sole governing body of the post-American state of Cascadia. The Triumvirate is a monolith, immovable but unstoppable. The Algorithms that control the Triumvirate autonomously manage everything from laws, to economy, to the very culture of its subjects.

This world, is an ugly one. How did it get here?

Long Story Short

The British retain their imperial possessions, and it gets worse from there.

Long Story Medium

World War II finishes early. The British keep their empire, America keeps the Philippines, and fascism begins to rise in the British Isles. The USSR and United Kingdom are the main belligerents in the early Cold War. The Republic of China under the Kuomintang defeats the Chinese Communist Party.

America and Japan remain at war until Japanese surrender in 1947. The US begins reconstruction of the state singlehandedly. Mass immigration to and from Japan in this period causes a cultural and ethnic chain to be formed between the United States, particularly the coast of California, and Japan.

The USA's Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s is a flop, meager state reforms are passed slowly. The movement comes back in the late 1990s, and pushes both social and economic reforms.

The USA and UK go to war over America's liberation of racial minorities, in 2014. The US wins after fighting off invasions of the Great Plains, New England, and the Philippine Islands. America conquers coastal Queensland, and renames the territory to New California.

The Year of the Blaze, the beginning of the wildfire season that never ended, occurs in 2035, a reality check for climate protection measures. The Year of the Blaze marks the end of the American Century, and the beginning of the end for the United States.

In 2050, the UK, now the Kingdom of Britannia, goes to war with Canada. Canada quickly collapses from war stresses. The United States follows suit, The Pacific Northwest secedes in 2055. The rest of the country separates in 2058.

America and Britannia go to war once again in 2062. Britain takes New England. The war continues to this day, and means about as much as the war in Afghanistan to most people.

China begins an invasion of Mainland Japan, under the name Bleeding Lotus. The sheer population density of urban Japan results in the occasional violation of the Geneva conventions.

And that is where your story begins.

A Very Long Story

World War II

American support comes earlier on and stronger, allocated to the African front. The Axis is pushed out of Libya before 1943. Allied landings in Sicily begin in the Spring rather than the Summer.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor never happens, as Roosevelt removed the Pacific Fleet from the Pacific Ocean. As such, the United States enters the war a well-equipped Naval power.

The war ends early, in the winter of 1944, and as opposed to committing suicide, Hitler and other Nazi leaders are tried for war crimes. Hitler is sentenced to life in maximum security prison, and lives until 1969. Japan continues warring with the United States until 1947, but is essentially doomed by 1944.

Post-War

Imperial Tendencies

Less damaged by an early victory, the British have the resources to maintain their empire, fighting with insurrectionists and independence movements in their many colonies. British xenophobia and militarism is fueled heavily, by the constant state of warfare between the United Kingdom and its colonies.

Japanese Reconstruction

America almost singlehandedly takes on the task of reconstructing Japan, forming strong cultural ties between the two. Mass population swaps occur between the United States and Japan, as American industrial workers look for jobs in Japan, and Japanese citizens seek new lives in the United States. Most Japanese people seeking to hop the pond take the cheapest, shortest flight, landing them directly on the coasts of California.

Many Americans stay permanently in Japan, and many Japanese stay permanently in America. Those that return, often return with wives, husbands, or children from their lives abroad, and the Americans often have enough money to comfortably retire on the sandy beaches of California.

The Cold War Begins

The British begin the Cold War early with the USSR, as the Soviets fund native rebellions in the British colonies from 1944 to 1950. Neither are interested in open war. The United States aren't involved, due to their focus on the Japanese war, and the country's subsequent reconstruction.

1950 to 1990

The Korean War begins in 1950, between the southern Republic of Korea (backed by the Republic of China), and the northern Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea (backed by the USSR). The war ends in a stalemate after a near-victory by the DPRK, resulting in an intervention by the British Raj.

The State of China

The Chinese Civil War ends in 1954, with a Republic of China victory. Without Soviet support, the Chinese Communist Party is unable to secure victory. Most CCP officials flee to the USSR, or face execution or life imprisonment in the mainland.

China begins the Lántiān Offensive against Communist Vietnam in 1955, and annexes the nation in 1960.

First Civil Rights Movement

The First Civil Rights Movement begins in the United States. Rosa Parks is killed via cyanide poisoning 166 days into the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated by the CIA mere minutes before delivering the 'I Have a Dream' speech. Racial segregation remains federally legal in the United States. As consequences of this, the Party Switch of the 1960s is only a temporary affair, and the Democrats remain the premier right-wing party in the United states. Resentment boils and bubbles in the Black community, and the push for Gay Rights in the '60s and '70s is largely rejected.

Turn of the Millennium

In the early 1990s, the Second Civil Rights Movement begins. It is focused on achieving equality for Black individuals, and Queer liberation. The movement is far more insurrectionist and paramilitary in nature than the first. Racial segregation is federally outlawed by 2011 after heavy obstructionism by southern Democrats.